Symbol row: Sasikala Natarajan's nephew TTV booked in bribery case

The Delhi crime branch police have registered a FIR against Sasikala Natarajan's nephew and AIADMK Amma party's deputy general secretary TTV Dinakaran. The crime branch police have accused TTV Dinakaran of bribing officials over the AIADMk symbol row. He has been booked by the Delhi crime branch under sections 170 and 120 B of the IPC and section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

File Photo of TTV Dinakaran

"Following an anonymous tip-off, the Delhi police arrested one Mr Sukesh Chandrasekhar. Sukesh had claimed that for a price of Rs 50 crore he can get AIADMK Sasiakala faction's TTV Dinakaran a favourable decision from the election commission over the symbol row. Rs 1.30 crore has been recovered from him," said Madhur Verma, DCP Delhi Police.

The FIR against Dinakaran came after the police arrested one, Sukesh, with Rs 1.5 crore in cash. The man is said to have told investigating authorities that Dinakaran gave him money to bribe officials. Sukesh was arrested on the charges of bribing an official over the AIADMK's 'two leaves' symbol. The election commission froze the symbol over factions led by Sasikala as well as Panneerselvam laid claim to it.

According to the crime branch police, Sukesh claimed that TTV Dinakaran asked him to pay Rs 50 lakh to an official for a favourable result in the election commission's verdict over the two 'leaves' symbol. The police believe that the arrested individual was a mediator between an official in the election commission and TTV Dinakaran. The arrest and the consequent FIR comes as added trouble to the Sasikala camp that already faces embarrassment after raids on health minister Vijaya Bhaskar's residence.